Let the games begin

Walk through the door and enter a whole new world.

It wasn't but seconds after I made my way through the front door before I met the first person, who I hadn't seen for quite some time, and then there was another, and another .... Before I even realized it, someone had put a sticky name tag on my chest, and pinned the smallest clothes pin to my lapel. Somehow I remember a voice whispering, 'Don't say the word or you will loose this'.

The guests of honor were sitting together at the bottom of the stairs, looking somewhat lost in the midst of the fray, but happy nonetheless to see all these family members and friends. Hugs all around and stories flowed: the kind of conversation you have when you haven't seen someone for a very long time, and need to get caught up about the significant happenings in life; and the kind of conversation you have when you meet people for the very first time.

Yes, there were first-time meetings too on this day. Mary had met all the rest of our family, except for me, but it wasn't long before we were talking with ease about the guests of honor and about many other things.

I'm told that there were about 45 people present for this extravaganza called a *ehem* an expectant parents' shower (can't use THAT word you know, or I might lose the pin that clings to my lapel).

I'm one of the lucky ones, just able to show up for the party, but there were lots of people who did lots of planning and organizing for this day: all the balloons and decorations, including the improvised infant rattle that was placed behind the chairs where the guests of honor would sit to open their gifts; someone delegated all the different food dishes so that no one had to do too much cooking; someone else had to make sure that all the appetizers were warmed, served and kept replenished until they ran out; someone had to make sure the games that kept popping up as the day went on, were kept moving; someone had to do all the set ups and striking of the set; and someone had to keep and eye out just to see that all things were running smoothly. Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it.

Like any social gathering that's well organized and lots of fun, most of us paid little or no attention to all these details once the festivities began. We preferred rather to pay attention to one another, to enjoy one another's company and the conversations that flowed increasingly easily as the day wore on.

Then came the time for opening all the gifts. In truth, I think that the guests of honor were amazed at the proclivity of gift bags that were placed before them. They even quipped that someone should open a gift bag rental business. 'They'd make a fortune'! As the bags were slowly emptied, each gift and its giver were dutifully recorded, for posterity's sake, and many a photograph was taken so that this moment can be remembered along with all the other moments of surprise and wonder that are part of this waiting period for the very first grandchild.

If the love and joy present at this gathering are any indication, this child will be just fine. There is a strong commitment to faith behind all that she will ever see and experience. There is a warm sense of welcome for friends and strangers alike (the latter of these two soon become the former), and there's always lots of laughter, and abundance of hugs, just the right amount of tears and of course more than enough food for body and soul.